


Chasing Lions

by noctoque



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, bedeliana
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-11 01:12:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1166824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noctoque/pseuds/noctoque
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alana Bloom hates Bedelia Du Maurier, and Bedelia Du Maurier hates Alana Bloom. Or, at least, that was supposedly how it was. Perhaps there was something else looming beneath the relationship they allowed any of their colleagues and friends to see. And perhaps these things can be found out by exploring the past, and looking to the future. {UPDATED FORTNIGHTLY}</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Why am I here?_ Alana sighed at her own thought. A glass of wine was passed to her, but she didn’t give a thanks. She wasn’t too fond of wine, and she had only taken it because it was offered to her.

“I thought you had something to tell me,” she said. The anger in her tone was subtle, but there was no missing it.

“I was hoping that you would be able to answer my questions,” Bedelia corrected. She looked away from Alana and down to the wine glass that she was holding firmly.

“Why should I answer your questions?” Alana snapped as Bedelia took a sip of wine.

“Because,” Bedelia paused for a single second, looking back up to Alana, looking into her deep blue eyes. Giving her a small smile, hoping that if she appeared just slightly friendlier that Alana would be compliant. “Any information that you may have would be useful to me.”

There was no fooling Alana with that smile. Bedelia had shown Alana that she obviously hated her from the very beginning. A friendly smile wasn’t going to change anything, especially not now. “About what?”

“About Hannibal Lecter.” Bedelia wasn’t sure as to how much she could ask Alana, or even how much she would know. She knew that Alana was close with Hannibal.

“You’re his psychiatrist.” The hatred hadn’t been extinguished from Alana’s voice, but the flames had died down enough for her to be considered at least somewhat civil. The best they could hope for was that the fire wouldn’t be pushed along by a sudden gust and reignite to its usual intensity. “You should know him better than anybody else.”

That was true. Bedelia believed that she knew Hannibal Lecter better than any living person did. However, he didn’t seem to be very willing to give much about himself away, even to his psychiatrist. Even in the past when the two of them had been closer, Hannibal still managed to hold an air of mystery about him and refused to tell Bedelia more than she needed to know. It could be slightly frustrating at times, but she knew that she had to hold her demeanour despite his refusal.

“You are Hannibal Lecter’s friend,” Bedelia stated. “I had thought that he may have told you something that he was yet to tell me.” Their past was a secret. Nobody could know about what had happened, and the first person to find out was definitely not going to be Alana Bloom.

“Are you trying to pry into my personal life?” the bitterness within Alana’s tone began to rise again. Bedelia hadn’t meant to fan the flames, but there wasn’t much more she could do in regards to somebody that hated her. All she had to do was make it through the conversation and then she could be left in peace and quiet again. “Hannibal and I have conversations. What we talk about isn’t any of your business.”

“I wasn’t attempting to pry,” Bedelia responded. Her voice was almost a complete contrast to Alana’s. It was soft, almost as though she wasn’t angry with Alana at all. She knew, however, that Alana would have come to recognise anger within Bedelia’s voice over the years, even if it wasn’t completely apparent. And, to Alana Bloom, there would be the slightest hint of aggression hiding within the very core of Bedelia’s words. “I had simply been hoping that you would be able to help me understand Hannibal Lecter a little more than I do now.” Bedelia drank a little more of her wine. Alana remained silent. “But it seems that I was wrong. I apologise for wasting your time, Doctor Bloom.”

Alana believed that much. She didn’t want any of Bedelia’s time, and she was sure that Bedelia didn’t want any of her time.

Alana placed her wine glass down, the difference between the level that had been poured and the amount that Alana had drunk being almost unnoticeable. She looked at Bedelia for only a moment, a stern look on her face that spoke volumes about everything that had just occurred. About the way she hated Bedelia, about the way she was angry that Bedelia had wasted her time, about the way that Bedelia had attempted to find out about her private life under the guise of professionalism.

She didn’t say goodbye. Alana turned to leave and walked off briskly, taking her scarf and coat from the coat stand by the front door. She quickly organised herself before opening the door and closing it on her way out. Alana walked quickly to her car in the harsh winter wind, glad to be leaving the home of Bedelia Du Maurier in favour of the warmth of her own car and, essentially, her own home in the end.

Bedelia didn’t take much time in finishing the glass of wine that she had poured herself. She looked to the glass that had been Alana’s, taking not of how little of an impact Alana had made. A small scowl crossed her face, almost unnoticeable, as though she was still in the presence of company. She pondered the things she could do with the glass full of wine, though only one really seemed to be anything of a good idea.

With the full wine glass in hand, Bedelia closed her eyes for a couple of seconds and sighed softly. She took a sip from the wine glass before leaving the kitchen with the wine glass in hand.

What a shame it had been that Alana Bloom couldn’t have stayed for any longer. More so, what a shame it was that the two couldn’t carry out a single conversation without the hatred for each other becoming painfully obvious.

Perhaps it would be the next time that she could hold Alana’s attention for longer than five minutes. That was, if there was a next time.


	2. Chapter 2

“I would like you to meet a student of mine,” he said. Was that the only reason why he was making the visit? He had the habit of doing that, visiting outside of their arranged sessions. He even had the audacity to visit her at home. It wasn’t as though she minded people visiting, but it was a different story with her patients, especially when she wished to keep them as nothing more than patients after what had happened in the past.

“And what would you be hoping to accomplish by having me meet them?” Bedelia asked, her arms crossed loosely in front of her.

“I’m hoping to get her more involved in the community,” Hannibal confessed. “She is young and doesn’t know many people. I thought you would be a good start.”

Bedelia pondered the question for a small moment. That in itself was something of a compliment. Meeting new people had never hurt her before, and she trusted Hannibal’s judgement; while he was a patient of hers, he was also a fellow psychiatrist and he was to be trusted on matters such as these. She had to remember that, outside of their sessions, he was just another colleague.

“Very well,” she agreed, uncrossing her arms and giving Hannibal a small smile. “I will meet your student.”

Hannibal gave Bedelia the basic information she needed to contact his student, namely the student’s name and her mobile number. The situation was no longer in Hannibal’s hands – he would have to trust that Bedelia would actually meet each other and that she hadn’t simple been saying that to get him out of her hair.

Once he had left her home, Bedelia allowed herself to relax for a couple of moments. She couldn’t help but to wonder as to how Hannibal’s student would be. Only so much thinking on the subject could be done until curiosity got the better of Bedelia and she had to pick up her own phone and finally contact the student.

With the new contact added, Bedelia got to messaging her straight away.

**Sent to: Alana Bloom**

_Good afternoon, Alana Bloom. I am Bedelia Du Maurier, Doctor Lecter’s colleague. I believe that he wished for us to meet._

With the message sent, all she had to do was wait for a response. Not much waiting had to be done until a response was received; at least she didn’t take too much time to get back to Bedelia.

 

***

 

Alana’s Saturday had been quite plain – study, mostly.  There were more interesting things she could have been doing, but she knew that there hadn’t been too much of a choice. Although she would have done otherwise if it had been possible, Alana knew that she had little other choice than to study, and she had to be diligent in her plans. She would almost continuously check the time on her phone in the hopes that her studying time would be over. It was at one of the points of checking her phone at which the device vibrated – she kept it on silent so it didn’t distract her from studying too much, were she to get a message.

A smile came over her face as she read. It had been a few days ago that Doctor Lecter had informed Alana that he would attempt to have her get to know some of his colleagues. She wasn’t about to refuse that offer; it was productive enough for her to not consider it a distraction, and definitely more interesting than studying. While she knew that she shouldn’t have responded straight away, Alana couldn’t help but to do so; it would take barely a minute, and she didn’t want to keep the person on the other end waiting.

**To: Bedelia Du Maurier**

     _Thanks for agreeing to meet me. It would be a pleasure to meet you. We could meet tomorrow if you’re not busy._

The two agreed upon a meeting place in later messages back and forth, and Alana was beginning to regret how much it was beginning to cut into her studying time. At least, she reminded herself, it was for something she could coin the term ‘productive’.

 

***

 

They had agreed upon a café that was convenient for the both of them. It was quaint and mostly quiet, with a few small chatters of people barely audible. Bedelia was only able to hear them if she tried her hardest.

She ordered a coffee for herself. The Autumn weather was disagreeable, and Bedelia could do with something to warm herself up while she waited. She checked the time. It was only a couple of minutes past their agreed upon meeting time. She couldn’t be too fussy about how late Alana Bloom was. Bedelia supposed that she had been busy with something, or perhaps traffic was holding her up.

Bedelia had been taking comfort in the aroma of the hot beverage when she heard a voice.

“Sorry I’m late,” it said sweetly from behind her. The owner of the voice was soon to be in front of her, taking the seat across the small table from Bedelia. “You’re Doctor Du Maurier?” she questioned before Bedelia gave a small nod of her head in confirmation. The stranger held out her hand, which Bedelia was quick in giving a handshake. “I’m Alana Bloom, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Bedelia replied before withdrawing her hand back to the cup of coffee.

She subtly looked the woman before her up and down. Alana had already ordered her own coffee, she was holding it in her hand. Perhaps that was why she had been a little later? It seemed as though Alana had made herself look somewhat nice for the occasion, looking more or less semi-formal. Then again, hadn’t Bedelia done the same thing herself?

The two engaged in conversation about anything that became relevant; Alana’s studies, Bedelia’s career, the mutual acquaintance that had led them both to the café, and the blonde was sure to keep something of a mental barrier between the two of them, as to not allow them to get too close.

Bedelia couldn’t help but to think to herself as to her initial thoughts on Alana Bloom. She was a nice woman, she could give her that much. There was something else about her, though, something that Bedelia couldn’t quite pick out from the rest.

Time passed on and so did their conversation – it must have been at least an hour before the two of them decided to leave it at that. While Bedelia had kept up her barrier the entire time, Alana hadn’t noticed what could have come off as something of a disinterest in her which, for the time being, was perhaps for the best.

It wasn’t until the two of them shook hands once more and bid their farewells that Bedelia realised what it was about Alana that she couldn’t have picked out before. That feeling would have to be locked up, and she would be certain to never let Alana see any of it

She would cloud everything with a hatred, and be sure to keep a barrier between them.


End file.
